Interior and exterior lighting often involves illuminating different areas of an environment with different amounts of light, with lights of different colors and/or with lights that have beams of different widths. In many instances, lighting that can be used to set the right mood for the environment and/or activity to be performed in the environment through changing the correlated color temperature (CCT), light output and light distribution. Depending on the activity, the lighting theme for the environment may need to change from bright to dim, crisp white to warmer tone, and/or from spot to ambient distribution. This is especially true for multi-functional residential and/or commercial spaces, television rooms, or areas with heavy visual display usage. Multiple luminaries and/or specialized dimming units are typically used to achieve these functions. The use of multiple luminaries and/or specialized dimming units can be expensive. For example when reading in the environment it is desirable to have a bright, crisp white light with a spot distribution. Whereas when having dinner with a companion in the environment it may be more desirable to have a dimmer warmer light with an ambient distribution.
In view of the above it should be appreciated that there is a need for new methods and/or apparatus which can support a wide variety of lighting characteristics. It would be desirable if the supported lighting characteristics included the ability to change the color, e.g., correlated color temperature (CCT) of the light, the light output and/or the light distribution without the use of multiple luminaries/lighting assemblies and/or multiple and/or specialized dimming units for changing the color of the light, e.g., (CCT), the light output and/or the light distribution.
Furthermore it would be desirable if changes in one or more of these characteristics of light color, light output and light distribution could be made dynamically in a single LED lighting apparatus using a single regular dimming unit.